Goan Christian Weddings – Traditional and Modern Fusions. Goa is renowned all over the world due to its love for life and for the happy musical and carnival atmosphere there. Their weddings are reflective of this joie de vivre and they are full of laughter and good food and liquor. The Goan wedding is an occasion to eat and be merry and there are many ceremonies which trace their origins to the days when the Portuguese rules there.
Customs and Rituals of Goan Christian Weddings:
One week before the Goan wedding the festivities begin with a grand feast for the whole village, and with the distribution of sweets, specially by the groom’s mother. Music and dancing are very much a part of this grand meal. Three weeks before the wedding, banns are read out in the church, in accordance with the church laws and similar to the Christian traditions worldwide. The day the first bann is read, the bride visits her maternal uncle and he gifts her the traditional chuddo and the special bangles for her wedding. The bangle seller comes to the house on this day to give bangles for all the ladies of the family. On the morning of the wedding, both the bride and the groom have to go through the ceremonial purification ceremony with coconut water like the Bengali Holud Kota. Weddings are conducted in beautifully decorated churches and the bride and the groom are taken there in lovely old limousines. An exchange of rings and the recitation of the vows signifies the culmination of the wedding, followed by a reception for all the guests.
Unique Features of Goan Christian Weddings:
Unlike most Hindu weddings, the wedding finery of the bride is provided by the groom’s family. They also gift the clothes for the bridesmaids and the pageboys. Many Goan brides are now wearing beautiful white sarees for their weddings, rather than the long white gowns preferred
